Donegal priest’s High Court bid to halt drink driving charge fails

July 25, 2018

A Donegal-based priest will stand trial on drink driving charges after a the Hugh Court refused to declare a failure to provide him with some official documents in Irish breached the State’s constitutional obligations.

Fr Donnchadh Ó Cuinn, the parish priest in Falcarragh, is charged with driving in excess of the legal limit for alcohol at Lower Main Street, Letterkenny on March 29, 2014.

Fr Ó Cuinn denies the charge.

In judicial review proceedings, he argued, as a native Irish speaker, he is entitled to conduct official business through Irish, his native language, the national language and the first official language of the State.

Fr Ó Cuinn secured leave in November 2014 to bring forward a judicial review.

In his reserved judgment on Friday, Mr Justice Clarke refused to grant the declarations sought, the Irish Times is reporting. 


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